The Snatcher (A Hat in Time)
The Snatcher is a major antagonist in the 2017 game A Hat in Time, serving as the boss of the third Chapter "Subcon Forest". He is a manipulative shadow spirit who competes with the mysterious Queen Vanessa for the control over Subcon Forest, playing tricks and making deals with others in order to obtain their souls. He was voiced by Luke Sizemore (also known as "Yungtown"). Biography According to the Subcon Forest Storybook and journal entries in Queen Vanessa's manor, the Snatcher was once a lawyer who served Queen Vanessa of the kingdom of Subcon Forest. Vanessa fell in love with the lawyer, viewing and referring him as her "prince", and the two lived happily together. Over time Vanessa's obsession with her "prince" grew uncontrollably unhealthy and jealous when he spent much time away at law school, but nonetheless he loved her back and wrote her frequent letters. Things came to a head one day when she discovered her prince with another girl (actually a merchant who was merely selling him a bundle of flowers). She imprisoned her prince within her manor as punishment for "leaving her", where her magic and abuse eventually transformed the man into the Snatcher. After escaping, the Snatcher rallied the other people transformed into shadowy monsters and spirits in hope to restore the forest that Vanessa destroyed. When Hat Kid makes her way through Subcon Forest to find her missing Time Pieces, she is caught in a trap by the Snatcher. Instead of killing her, the Snatcher decides to make her his servant, as the old one lost his head. He forces Hat Kid to sign a contract in exchange for her soul, although he promises to give it back once she fulfills her objectives on the contract. After completing the Snatcher's objectives (killing the fire fairies, cleaning the Subcon Well, defeating the possessed Toilet of Doom, obtaining a stolen Time Piece from Queen Vanessa's attic, and delivering the mail to each of the Snatcher's minions), before Had Kid can collect the last Time Piece of the area, the Snatcher arrives and reveals his true intentions: to kill his contractors once they become obsolete to the Snatcher's goal of collecting souls. He then engages Hat Kid in battle to dispose her little head, but before snatching her hat and preventing her from using her hat powers. Although the Snatcher seems immortal, Hat Kid turned him blue by reflecting one of his attacks, allowing her to touch and defeat him. The Snatcher admits defeat and makes another contract for Hat Kid to sign, this one declaring Hat Kid an exile of Subcon Forest and to never come back. However, Hat Kid scribbles on the contract, instead inviting her to stay and have fun in the forest. The Snatcher gives up and decides to give Hat Kid her soul and Time Pieces back, though warning her that should he ever see her again, consequences will follow. The Snatcher plays another significant part at the end of the game, where he, along with the rest of Hat Kid's companions encountered along her journey, come to her aid during her brawl with Mustache Girl. The Snatcher makes a contract for a Goat to sign to throw bombs made by the Snatcher into the arena to assist Hat Kid in replenishing Mustache Girl's magic barrier. Before Hat Kid's departure, her companions hold aside to her space ship and beckon her not to leave, with the Snatcher offering to make another contract. Hat Kid pushes them away with her broom and waves goodbye as they plummet back down to their planet. Death Wish In the "Seal the Deal" DLC, the Snatcher runs his own challenge mode called "Death Wish". The mode is unlocked once Hat Kid collects at least 27 time pieces and defeated the Snatcher, but most of the mode is restricted until all bosses have been defeated and Act 1 of Arctic Cruise has been completed. In "Death Wish", the Snatcher will enforce Hat Kid to face a list of 111 "hard-as-peck" challenges. Each mission has a main objective and two bonus goals, some of which will reward Hat Kid with different customization outfits if she completes all three goals, including new hats and clothes. Throughout each challenge, the Snatcher will troll Hat Kid and often make "suggestions," sometimes helpful, other times consisting of obviously terrible advice that contradicts the mission. Should Hat Kid die to any mission, the Snatcher will take her soul and force her to restart from the beginning. Appearance The Snatcher resembles a dark, slender figure with two fingers on each of his slim arms and a yellow glowing face similar to the jack-o'-lantern, featuring two eyes and a mouth with two fangs. He has what appears to be hair or a frill on his neck. He is a shapeshifter, although he retains the features of his eyes and smile. As a human, the Snatcher had brown hair and wore a regal red shirt with purple stripes on the shoulders. Personality The Snatcher is a mischievous and manipulative phantom who enjoys to toy around other's lives through the contracts he forces them to sign. The instant they finish or withdraw their contracts should the Snatcher dispose of them, finding them useless after outliving their use to him. He is also shown to be quite greedy and selfish, refusing to give Hat Kid the Time Pieces that landed in his forest, calling them his property. The Snatcher shows a mild disdain for loopholes, deception, and attempts to subvert his authority, possibly stemming from his original life as a lawyer. Being forcefully painted blue during his boss fight made him very angry, and watching Hat Kid scribble on his contract coaxed a dry snark out of him. However, he does have some standards, as he cares about his minions; when Vanessa killed them, the Snatcher offered to let their undead spirits live again if they serve him. To keep them from feeling alone and unfulfilled, he frequently steals mail from outside the Forest to give to his minions as gifts. He also holds a dislike for authoritarian rule; when Mustache Girl steals the Time Pieces and attempts to take control of the world, the Snatcher encourages Hat Kid to defeat her and helps in the final battle. Quotes }} Gallery Images Snatcher AHIT.png TheSnatcherContract.png Mail Delivery Service.png YourContractHasExpired.png|The Snatcher's evil grin. Snatcher Boss Fight.png|The Snatcher having snatched Hat Kid's hat. Snatcher Lost.png|The Snatcher having lost to Hat Kid. A Hat in Time Death Wish.jpg Snatcher Seal the Deal Right.jpg Death Wish Snatcher.png|The Snatcher reading his favorite book How to Kill Kids. Videos A Hat in Time - The Snatcher|Snatcher boss battle. Cutscenes (A Hat in Time)|All of Snatcher's scenes. A Hat in Time OST - 55 Your Contract Has Expired Trivia *The Snatcher may have been inspired by the demon in the black chests from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, as both are dark figures with a tendency to shout "FOOL!" whenever encountered. *In the original Alpha of A Hat in Time, the Snatcher was originally separated into two characters: the prince by the name of Moonjumper, and a shadow that resembles Snatcher found on a wall of Queen Venessa's cut third story of her manor. According to the shadow, Moonjumper was his friend when he lived in the manor. When Moonjumper was removed from the game, his backstory and the shadow became one single character. Navigation Category:Paranormal Category:Trickster Category:Video Game Villains Category:Comedy Villains Category:Tyrants Category:Magic Category:Greedy Category:Egotist Category:Collector of Souls Category:Noncorporeal Category:Guardians Category:Protective Category:Nameless Category:Honorable Category:Tragic Category:Redeemed Category:Game Bosses Category:Arrogant Category:Control Freaks Category:Power Hungry Category:Deal Makers Category:Extortionists Category:Murderer Category:Dark Forms Category:Affably Evil Category:Sophisticated Category:Sadists Category:Evil Vs. Evil Category:Businessmen Category:Self-Aware Category:Mentally Ill Category:Lawful Evil Category:Slaver Category:Disciplinarians Category:Extremists Category:Mischievous Category:Bogeymen Category:Indie/Doujin Villains Category:Brutes